President Joe Biden will most likely be the Democrats' nominee in the 2024 presidential election — unless it appears that former President Donald Trump won't be the Republicans' choice, Sen. Ted Cruz said Tuesday on Newsmax.
In that case, the Texas Republican told Newsmax's "Wake Up America" in an extensive interview, there could be a much worse alternative as nominee: Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.
"I think that the Democrat and the Republican ticket are oddly intertwined," Cruz said. "Six months ago, I did not think Biden was going to be the nominee. Clearly, he's not up to the job. Everybody knows that. The Republicans know that but the Democrats do, too."
However, Cruz said that although it's "obvious he's too old and far too often not aware of anything around him," Democrats want Biden because they believe Trump will be the nominee. In that case, "their strategy would be to hide Biden in the basement and just attack Trump all the time," Cruz said.
But if the Democrats in the coming months change their minds and think someone other than Trump will be the nominee, "I think the Democrats would throw Biden overboard and find someone younger and, from their perspective, more up to the task," said Cruz.
If that happens, Cruz said Democrats' top choices are Warren, Vice President Kamala Harris, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, or California Gov. Gavin Newsom — and that Warren would take the win.
None of the four has announced any intentions of seeking the nomination, but Cruz called Warren the "id of the Democrat Party."
"They are angry and socialist, far left," he said. "I think Elizabeth Warren would be an extraordinarily dangerous president, God forbid she ever occupies that role."
Cruz also commented on Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C. entering the race this week, and called him a "good friend" and "terrific senator."
"He's got an amazing life story," said Cruz. "It is really inspirational. Tim is someone who understands in his gut and also in his lived experience the incredible promise of America, and I'm glad for Tim's voice. He's a very important voice in the Senate and I'm sure he'll add a lot to this race."
Meanwhile, Cruz discussed the ongoing debt ceiling talks, and said that he believes June 1 deadline Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has mentioned for a potential default date is "arbitrary."
"Treasury has what are called extraordinary measures, which generally means they can push back these sorts of deadlines," said Cruz. "That being said, we shouldn't be backed up against any sort of deadline at all. The reason that we are is Joe Biden and the White House. Their opening position was objectively unreasonable."
Cruz said House Republicans passed a "good bill" that raises the debt ceiling but enacts important spending restraints.
"That was a very reasonable piece of legislation," but Biden, for a long time, said he would not negotiate, and "that was ridiculous, and it was so ridiculous ultimately that he had to blink, but he waited so long they're now backed up into a corner," said Cruz.
Biden has said he could invoke the 14th Amendment to end the debt ceiling argument, but Cruz said the case would end up losing in the courts.
Cruz said the amendment was passed after the Civil War to allow the government to pay its debts, but not to pay the debts of the Confederacy.
"The argument that Biden's trying to [make] that somehow puts the power with the president, is, frankly, laughable," said Cruz. "I think it would be thrown out of court very, very quickly. Among others, even Barack Obama agreed with that."
Biden, by threatening the use of the 14th Amendment, "is throwing catnip at the far left," said Cruz. "A responsible president would stand up and look the American people in the eye and say, 'Hear me clearly, America will never, never, never default on our debt.'"
This means the government must take in substantially more in tax revenue than it pays in interest on the national debt, and Biden could instruct the treasury to pay the interest on the debt first, which would take the default off the table, Cruz added.
"The reason he doesn't do that is he wants to scaremonger. He wants to scare the stock markets; he wants to scare the bond markets," he said. "He wants to threaten your 401K because he doesn't want to cut spending."
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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